Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights requires states to ensure that persons deprived of their liberty are held in conditions compatible with respect for their human dignity and are not subjected to distress or hardship exceeding the unavoidable level of suffering inherent in detention. The European Court of Human Rights nevertheless continues to find numerous violations concerning detention, revealing inter alia structural problems requiring far-reaching national reforms.
The factsheet sets out non-exhaustive examples of measures adopted by states in the context of the execution of the Court’s judgments covering prison overcrowding and material conditions of pre-trial detention and detention in police premises, healthcare, reintegration, prevention of inter-prisoner violence, national inspection and monitoring mechanisms as well as effective domestic remedies.
This updated thematic factsheet is part of a series on changes to national law, policy and practice across Europe linked to the implementation of the European Court’s judgments. Other factsheets address a wide range of issues, including the reopening of domestic judicial proceedings following the European Court’s judgments, pilot judgments, excessive length of proceedings, the independence and impartiality of the judicial system, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, children’s rights, migrants and asylum, reproductive rights and data protection.
Thematic factsheet on conditions of detention in prisons and police premises
